Thirty-three grassroots BNP leaders from Satkhira Sadar upazila have submitted an application to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, demanding the cancellation of Abdur Rauf’s nomination for the Satkhira-2 constituency.
On Thursday, presidents, vice-presidents, general secretaries, and organizing secretaries of 12 union BNP units jointly signed and sent the application. A copy of the petition was also forwarded to the party’s acting Khulna divisional organizing secretary, Anindya Islam Amit.
In the letter, the leaders alleged that Abdur Rauf had a history of switching parties multiple times—joining the Jatiya Party in 2009 after leaving BNP and later returning to BNP. They noted that he was expelled from the party on April 25, 2024, for violating organizational directives by contesting the union parishad election as an independent candidate. The expulsion order, they said, remains in effect.
The application also cited his controversial behavior during a religious event on April 23, when he allegedly behaved rudely with Islamic preacher Kabir Bin Samad, sparking nationwide outrage. Local clerics later organized protests demanding his arrest.
Additionally, the petitioners mentioned that the district administrator had publicly called Rauf a “fraud” last year in connection with a land-grabbing incident involving government property and the truck workers’ union — a video of which went viral on social media.
Leaders argued that nominating such a controversial figure would alienate voters.
Ismail Hossain, General Secretary of Agardari Union BNP, said, “Chairman Abdul Alim has long led the Satkhira Sadar BNP. We have always found him by our side in good and bad times. We want him to get the nomination.”
Earlier, on November 3, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the party’s list of candidates. Shortly afterward, BNP activists blocked the Khulna–Satkhira highway at Binerpota Bypass Mor, torching tires and demanding the cancellation of Abdur Rauf’s nomination. Vehicular movement remained suspended for about two hours until central leaders intervened to end the protest.
